REPORT ON FIRE PERFORMANCE OF HOUSES WELCOME: FIRE CHIEFS

OTTAWA, December 17, 2008 – A National Research Council (NRC) study released this week on the fire performance of houses has received strong support from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC).

‘The NRC report quantifies many of the facts about residential fires that firefighters have long known instinctively to be true,” stated Calgary Fire Chief Bruce Burrell, CAFC’s President.

He pointed specifically to a statement that working smoke alarms on each floor of a residence are the key to the life safety of occupants, provided they begin evacuation immediately when smoke alarms sound their warnings.  NRC’s report also stresses the importance of a home fire escape plan that is practiced regularly.   

‘The report confirms the danger of fires involving polyurethane foam which is widely used in upholstered furniture,” CAFC’s President said.   He explained how such fires can quickly threaten the structural integrity of a home. 

“That fact is more important than ever these days, said Fire Chief Burrell.  “The NRC study shows that many new building materials fail up to 60 per cent faster than the more traditional solid wood joist assemblies.”

Fire Chief Burrell stated that the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs strongly advocates that every new residence built in Canada must be equipped with an automatic sprinkle system.   “Current furniture and residential construction materials have significantly compounded the dangers of home fires.  Sprinklers are essential to containing such fires until the Fire Department is on the scene.”

CAFC believes that the next phase of NRC testing will confirm that residential sprinklers not only reduce fire spread and structural failure, but also add to the time for occupants to escape safely.

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Information:

Fire Chief Bruce Burrell

Calgary Fire Department   

Telephone: 403-287-4255
Cell Phone:      403-813-4064

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